Nishant Prakash vs Sebi

Date of Decision : 16.8.2017

Misc. Application No.212 of 2017 And Appeal No.163 of 2017 Nishant Prakash 1050/1 Survey Park Utsav-Utsarg-04A-UV14 Santoshpur, Kolkata, West Bengal - 700075 ..... Appellant

Versus

Securities & Exchange Board of India NEDFI House, 4th Floor, G.S. Road, Dispur, Guwahati - 781006. ...... Respondent

Mr. Rajesh Srivastava, Advocate i/b. Rajesh K. Singh, Advocate for the Appellant. Mr. Rajesh Nagori, Advocate with Mr. Tomu Francis and Mr. Vivek Shah, Advocates for the Respondent.

CORAM : Justice J.P. Devadhar, Presiding Officer Dr. C.K.G. Nair, Member

Per : Justice J.P. Devadhar (Oral)

Misc. Application No.212 of 2017

There is a delay of 370 days in filing this appeal. For the reasons stated

in the Misc. Application No.212 of 2017 the delay is condoned. The Misc.

Application is disposed of accordingly.

Appeal No.163 of 2017

1.

This appeal is filed to challenge the order passed by the Whole Time

Member ('WTM' for short) of Securities and Exchange Board of India

('SEBI' for short) on 23rd February, 2016. By the said order Amrit Projects

(N.E.) Limited ('Company' for convenience) and its Directors including the

appellant have been inter alia directed to refund the money collected through

Redeemable Preference Shares with interest, if any, due to the investors. 2

Grievance of the appellant is that he had resigned as a Director of the

Company on 15.2.2012 and annexed certain documents to the Memorandum

of appeal to demonstrate that the amounts collected by the company through

redeemable preference shares during the period when he was a director, have

all been repaid by the company to the investors.

2. Admittedly, these facts were not placed before the WTM of SEBI

who has passed the impugned order on 23rd February, 2016. It is contended

by the appellant that the said documents were received by the appellant from

the Registrar of Companies subsequent to the order passed by the WTM on

23rd February, 2016.

3. Since the case of the appellant that the amounts collected by the

company during his tenure have already been refunded has not been

considered by SEBI, we set aside the impugned order qua the appellant

subject to payment of costs of Rs.10,000/- and remand the matter only for the

limited purpose of ascertaining as to whether the amounts collected by the

company during the period when the appellant was a director were refunded

prior his retirement on 15.2.2012. Appellant is directed to pay costs of

Rs.10,000/- to SEBI within two weeks from today.

4. Appeal is disposed of in the aforesaid terms with no order as to costs.

Sd/-

Justice J. P. Devadhar Presiding Officer

Sd/-

Dr. C. K. G. Nair Member

16.8.2017 Prepared and compared by RHN